While the initial website project is critical to creating the right foundation, the ongoing maintenance and upkeep is where you’ll really see your website shine. That is where you’ll really start to maximize the return on your investment.

Make the right impression for your business

Ever go to a business-networking meeting and get a business card from someone? One of the first things people do after they get back to the office is look up the company’s website.

What is the first impression they get?

Is the “Latest News” 2 years old? Is the copyright date in the footer from 3 years ago? Did the “Monthly Special” expire last year?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be leaving your prospects with a poor first impression of your company and leaving business on the table.

On the other hand, if your site is up-to-date, you will be communicating that your company is able to stay on top of things and communicate well, someone whom your prospect can trust.

Give Your Visitors a Reason To Come Back

As they say in marketing, it is easier to keep a customer than to get a new one. What is one of the best ways to do this online? Make sure you are providing relevant, up-to-date information that helps them accomplish their goals. Perhaps this is your monthly newsletter and blog or the latest special offers.

By keeping your site current and informative, you begin to develop a solid trust relationship with your customers and prospects. This trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. Help build their trust by providing the latest and most up-to-date information on your website.

Boost your Search Engine Ranking and Drive More Traffic

Search engines love fresh content. The more often you update your website, the more often the search engines will visit your site and boost your rankings. And the reverse is true as well. After a site has not been updated in a while, the search engines quit crawling it and your rankings may begin to drop for important keywords.

Not only does showing the search engines that your site has fresh content help to boost your rankings, it also gives you more opportunities to rank for specific keywords.

Keep Your Site Up-To-Date with the Latest Security Patches and Bug Fixes

If you are using a content management system (and you really should be) or any web-based software, then it is vitally important to keep it updated with the latest security patches and bug fixes. You don’t have to be running an e-commerce site for hackers to want to break into your website. Often times, hackers will break into a website and upload Trojan and malware for use in their other attack schemes.

Your Website Needs to Grow and Evolve to keep up with Current Technology…

The web is ever-growing and changing. New technology is constantly evolving for accessing your content. Is your website keeping up?

There are two common approaches to accommodating new technology. You can make regular but smaller incremental changes over time, or you can do a complete refresh every few years. While a complete refresh is tempting and even sometimes needed, a better and more affordable approach is to make smaller incremental changes over time.